It is thought that until the mid 18th century there was no concept of childhood as a particular stage in life. From a number of these portraits it appears that children were supposed to dress and behave like small adults.

If you look at the portrait of the young Garton Orme at the Spinet, you can see that he is dressed in the high fashion of the time, and is learning to play a musical instrument. Both of these are signs of his status in society. He is depicted as a middle class child with a good education and the fact that his parents were wealthy enough to commission his portrait also indicates that he comes from a 'good' home. He appears very much as a society gentleman, despite the fact he is still a mere child.

Portrait of a Child with a Coral and Prince Baltasar Carlos in Silver depict two children in the infant dress of the time. Prince Baltasar Carlos is still wearing a skirt and has not yet been ‘breeched’ or put into trousers. The clothing of each child is inflexible and restrictive compared to that of a modern toddler. Both children stand immobile and rigidly poised. One is destined to be King of Spain, while the other we presume to be a fairly ordinary child of Dutch origin, but both portraits show the children full-length, standing in the centre of the painting and striking surprisingly similar poses. Do either of them seem to be behaving remotely like children? Do they seem to be having any fun? What do the portraits say about the role of children at this time? The portrait of the Duc de Montpensier is a later example of an infant portrait. Although this child, like Prince Baltasar Carlos, is still wearing a skirt he is surrounded by toys, which suggests he is seen more as a child than a small adult.

In the mid 18th century attitudes to children and childhood began to change. Children were no longer perceived simply as small adults and childhood began to be recognised as an independent state associated with nature. Artists thus increasingly portrayed children outdoors in natural settings or surrounded by natural objects. In the Family Group Portrait by Guiseppe Bonito, the three children direct our attention to nature: the boy points to the Mediterranean Sea, one girl carries a basket of flowers and another has a small bird perched on her finger.

Henrietta Laura Pulteney is also shown outside, picking flowers in the garden of her family estate. The portrait also illustrates a move away from the static poses of earlier portraits of children towards a more spontaneous depiction of the liveliness of youth, which, in certain cases, also conveys something of a child’s individual personality. Henrietta Laura Pulteney was described as an 'indefatigable dancer'.